WPR

Nebraska Population 2014

Although it has an almost central location within the United States, Nebraska is located on the Mid West plains and has many landmarks that claim to be the gateway to the west. Like many states in the region, Nebraska enjoyed a population explosion in the second half of the 19th century due to the great California Gold Rush.

It's estimated that the population of Nebraska in 2013 is now 1,870,291, up from 1.82 million at the 2010 Census. Nebraska's growth rate is now 0.80%, which ranks 25th in the country.

Nebraska Population 2014

The last nationwide census within the United States of America took place in 2010 and, at the time, it was confirmed that 1,826,341 citizens were living in the Cornhusker State. Those figures represented a rise of 6.7% on the findings from the 2000 Census, which declared final numbers of 1,711,263. It is now estimated that these figures have climbed even further to a total population of 1,870,291.

With over 530 villages and cities in the state, only one has a population of more than 300,000. Omaha has a population estimated at 410,000, while Lincoln, the capital city, has 258,000. These are the only two cities with a population over 60,000.

Nebraska Population Density

Nebraska’s surface area covers 77,354 square miles (200,520 square kilometers) and that makes this the 16th largest state in the US in terms of pure size. Based on the 2011 population estimate, for every square mile of Nebraskan territory, there is an average of 24 people. Overall, Nebraska is only the 43rd ranked state in terms of population density.

Approximately one in three Nebraskans live in its two major cities, Omaha and Lincoln. 89% of Nebraska's cities have less than 3,000 people, which is on par with 5 other Midwestern states, but hundreds of towns in Nebraska have less than 1,000 residents. Many rural schools in the state have been forced to consolidate.

53% of the 93 counties in Nebraska reported declining numbers between 1990 and 2000, and this trend has continued as more urban areas have experienced great growth. Between 2000 and 2010, Lincoln saw a 14.5% increase, while Omaha's population grew 6.3% in just 5 years.

Nebraska Population History

Figures dating from 1860 show that the population of Nebraska at the time was just 28,841 but the Gold Rush was soon to have its effect. Just ten years later, those numbers had grown by over 325% to 122,993 and similar increases throughout the 1800’s meant that the Nebraska population had reached one million by the start of the 20th century.

As the 1900’s progressed, increases in percentage terms tended to stay within single figures on a census by census basis. There was an anomaly in 1940 when it was shown that numbers had actually dropped from those ten years earlier but the overall picture is one of growth.

That steady, if unspectacular growth has meant that the Nebraska population of 2013 is edging very slowly towards the two million landmark, although it's not quite there yet.

Nebraska Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the racial makeup of Nebraska was as follows:

The largest ancestry groups in the state are German (38.6%), Irish (12.4%), English (9.6%), Mexican (8.7%) and Czech (5.5%). This makes German-Americans by far the largest group in Nebraska, although Nebraska does have the largest per capita population of Czech-Americans in the country.

Nebraska Population Growth

The population of Nebraska is rising, even if that growth isn’t at the same rate as in other states across the country. At the next census in 2020, it will be interesting to see just how close the state’s numbers can stretch towards their next milestone of two million, although it's projected that the population in Nebraska will only reach 1.82 million by 2030.